Reducing the risk to Mars: The gas core nuclear rocket

Conference · Thu Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1998

OSTI ID:563811

Howe, S D; DeVolder, B; Thode, L; Zerkle, D

The next giant leap for mankind will be the human exploration of Mars. Almost certainly within the next thirty years, a human crew will brave the isolation, the radiation, and the lack of gravity to walk on and explore the Red planet. However, because the mission distances and duration will be hundreds of times greater than the lunar missions, a human crew will face much greater obstacles and a higher risk than those experienced during the Apollo program. A single solution to many of these obstacles is to dramatically decrease the mission duration by developing a high performance propulsion system. The gas-core nuclear rocket (GCNR) has the potential to be such a system. The authors have completed a comparative study of the potential impact that a GCNR could have on a manned Mars mission. The total IMLEO, transit times, and accumulated radiation dose to the crew will be compared with the NASA Design Reference Missions.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration, Washington, DC (United States); National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 563811
• Report Number(s): LA-UR--97-3361; CONF-980103--; ON: DE98001449; CNN: Contract H-28025D
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
MARS PLANET
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
PROPULSION REACTORS
RISK ASSESSMENT
ROCKETS
SPACE FLIGHT